|
||
AND FRANCIS-JOSEPH 241
stance of this can be given than his treatment of General
Baron von Krosick, who expected to be dismissed from the army, possibly even banished, when William ascended the throne, but who instead has been overwhelmed by Ms sovereign with every conceivable honor, having received not merely his promotion from the rank of brigadier- general to that of inspector-general of the army, but also in- vestiture with the exceedingly rare distinction of the Order of the Black Eagle, which, as I have already stated before, is the Prussian equivalent to the English Order of the Garter, and the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece. The baron enjoys the well-deserved reputation of being the most phenomenally rude and rough-spoken man in the German army, and was at one time colonel in command of the hussar regiment in which William, prior to becoming ern- peror, received his cavalry training.
On one occasion an almost incredible scene took place.
It was at a regimental mess banquet, to which William, at that time only a captain, had invited Crown Prince Ru- dolph of Austria, then on a visit at Berlin. During the course of the dinner, the conversation turned upon some projected reforms in cavalry drill and movements, which ultimately turned out to be impracticable and were not carried into effect. William, in Ms impulsive, impetuous, and somewhat arrogant way, declaimed in a loud tone of voice on their superlative merits, declared himself in their favor, and added that he would do his utmost to see them carried through, as he regarded them as indispensable to raise the standard and tone of the German cavalry.
Colonel von Krosick, like the remainder of the officers,
had drunk his fair share of wine. He never liked his royal
subaltern, and took no pains to conceal his sentiments.
The arrogance of the prince's utterances, as well as his as-
16
|
||
|
||